It’s that time of year again! We are excited for you to get to know our newest Roselani Summer Intern for 2023, Ani Kawada! Ani’s Roselani Internship is taking place in conjunction with her Association for Moving Image Archives (AMIA) Pathways Fellowship. ʻUluʻulu is thrilled to have Ani for a total of ten weeks. We did our usual introductory interview with Ani, read on to learn about our great, new addition to the team.

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My name is Ani Kawada and I am from Ewa Beach, Oʻahu. Some things about me are that I love to read, play volleyball, and drink coffee. I got my bachelor’s degree in History and American Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. I am currently going into my second year in the dual master’s program for American Studies and Library and Information Science. Some things that I am interested in are Hawaiian and Indigenous studies, as well as the curation, preservation, and ethics of Hawaiian knowledge in galleries, libraries, archives, and museum or GLAM institutions.

What brought you here to ‘Ulu‘ulu? What are some of the things you’re hoping to learn during your internship with us?

I first heard about ʻUluʻulu through my Society of American Archivists (SAA) Student Chapter President, Kate Marsi, who also interned with ʻUluʻulu. I then did some research in the types of materials ʻUluʻulu holds and preserves, when researching for one of my Library and Information Science (LIS) classes. I then went into a rabbit hole, looking through all the different videos and collections that ʻUluʻulu had to offer. I was happy to hear that an internship was going to be offered in the summer, and decided to go for it. 

Some things that I hope to learn during this internship is how to preserve the physical moving image archive, such as the film, vhs, betamax, and more. I am also interested in the digitization process. 

What projects are you working on at ‘Ulu‘ulu?

I am currently working on quality control and technical descriptions for a few collections, such as the Don Ho collection, Juniroa Productions/ KGMB, CLEAR collection, and hopefully the Nā Maka o Ka ʻĀina collection. I am also doing some transcription work for the KGMB Electronic News Gathering (ENG) log sheets and viddler video streaming maintenence. I have also finished transcribing several videos for the Pau Hana Years Collection and am now moving forward to turning those transcriptions into captions. Finally, I am cataloging and doing description for several collections. So far I have finished the Pacific Islanders in Communication’s sub-collection, Happy Birthday Tūtū Ruth, as well as the Juniroa – edited masters. I am currently working on doing cataloging and descriptions for several Hawaiʻi Home Movies.  

Is there anything about the items you are working with that is surprising or unexpected?

I have found the Don Ho Collection to be one of the more surprising/unexpected collections to work through. First off, before working on this collection, I had zero prior knowledge about the Don Ho Show. So I was quite surprised at the content of the show once I started watching it. Many of the things that went on the show were a little risqué. I often find myself gasping and sometimes laughing at work due to the type of humor displayed. It has been quite an interesting experience, for sure.

Now that you’ve been at the archive for a little while, have you found a favorite aspect?

I actually do enjoy every project that I am a part of. They are all different in their own way and have pros and cons to all of them. I would have to say that I do enjoy working on the transcription and captioning for the Pau Hana Years, because that is the collection that got me interested in ʻUluʻulu in the first place. I was also able to practice some of my ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, since some kūpuna in the videos were speaking ʻōlelo. 

Do you have any advice for future ‘Ulu’ulu interns or fellows?

Some advice I have for future ʻUluʻulu interns or fellows is to not be afraid to ask questions, especially if this is your first time working in an archive or with moving images. Everyone in ʻUluʻulu is so welcoming and excited to have you there and are more than willing to help you wherever needed. 

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Thank you to Ani for sharing your experience with us. We look forward to continuing our work together with you and we are so happy to have you along with us as the Roselani Summer Intern!

Through the generous support of the Henry Ku‘ualoha & Muriel Roselani Giugni Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, the Roselani Media Preservation Internship is offered each year at ‘Ulu‘ulu to give a student of merit who is committed to the preservation of our media history the opportunity to acquire practical experience in a moving image archive.